New York; one by way of Sandy Hook, and the other through Long Island
Sound and the East River. For a steamer coming from Liverpool, the
nearest entrance is through Long Island Sound. The Sandy Hook entrance
is obstructed by sand bars; the channel is tortuous, and accidents are
not uncommon. The entrance to Long Island Sound is broad and easy,
but between the Sound and the East River there is a very dangerous
passage, which extends, however, less than a mile. This dangerous
passage is popularly known as Hellgate ; the early Dutch navigators
gave the place its name. Tradition says that a Dutch skipper, named
Adrian Blok, called it the _Hellegat Rivière_, after a small stream in
Flanders, the place of his nativity. There is nothing sulphurous in
the name, Hellegat, which is said, by one writer, to mean “Beautiful
Pass;” somehow, the transposition of the word into Hellgate, has given
it an infernal aspect.
[Illustration: VIEW OF HELLGATE FROM NEGRO POINT, EAST RIVER, NEW
YORK.]
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF WORKS AT HALLETT’S POINT, EAST RIVER,
NEW YORK.]
The early historians of Manhattan and its vicinity described the
Hellgate as a very dangerous place; one of the earliest writers speaks
of it as follows: “which being a narrow passage, there runneth a
violent stream both upon flood and ebb, and in the middle lyeth
some islands of rocks, which the current sets so violently upon,
that it threatens present shipwreck; and upon the flood is a large
whirlpool, which continually sends forth a hideous roaring, enough
to affright any stranger from passing that way, and to wait for some
Charon to conduct him through, yet to those who are well acquainted,
little or no danger; yet a place of great defence against any enemy
coming in that way, which a small fortification would absolutely
prevent.”
Washington Irving humorously says of it, “At low water it is as
pacific a stream as you would wish to see. But as the tide rises it
begins to fret; at half tide it roars with might and main, like a bull
bellowing for more drink; but when the tide is full it relapses into
quiet, and for a time sleeps as soundly as an alderman after dinner.
In fact, it may be compared to a quarrelsome toper, who is a peaceable
fellow enough when he has no liquor at all, or when he has a skinful,
but who, when half-seas over, plays the very devil.”
[Sidenote: JOKES ABOUT HELLGATE.]
Occasionally, certain witty editors of New York and Boston engage in
little wordy contests in regard to the improvement of Hellgate: a
Boston editor will say the widening and deepening of Hellgate will
improve the entrance to New York! An editor of Manhattan Island will
respond that the widening and deepening of Hellgate improves the road
to Boston. Neither seems inclined to admit the existence of as much
immorality in his own city as in the abiding-place of the other.
The removal of the rocks that lie in this passage between East River
and Long Island Sound has been a subject of great anxiety with
merchants of New York, and it seems a little strange that from the
time of the settlement of New York until less than thirty years ago,
very little had been done towards this work.
[Sidenote: MAILLEFERT’S OPERATIONS.]
As late as 1845, the channel had not even been surveyed; and it was
not until the Office of the Coast Survey was reorganized, in 1847,
that a careful examination of this perilous channel was undertaken.
The first survey was made under the supervision of Lieutenant (now
Rear Admiral) Charles H. Davis, towards the close of 1847. He made his
report in February of the following year, giving a careful description
of the rocks and currents of Hellgate, and suggesting a plan for the
removal of the most serious obstructions. Nothing was done until the
following year, when a new survey was made. A map was published, and
in March, 1851, steps were taken to remove certain small but dangerous
rocks by the process of blasting. The engineer in charge of this work
was a Frenchman named Maillefert; he proposed to remove the rocks by
exploding charges of powder against them.
The plan dispensed altogether with the slow and difficult process of
drilling; he exploded his powder directly upon the rock, on the theory
that the pressure of the water above the gas formed by the burning
powder, would offer sufficient resistance to throw considerable force
against the rock. His first blast was made on Pot Rock, and removed
about four feet from its highest point. The plan was successful as
long as the rocks were in a state of projection; but after these
projections had been removed, and the explosions were made against a
solid flat surface, they failed almost completely.
After this French engineer ended his operations, new surveys were
made, and it was found that the channel, though greatly improved, was
far from complete or satisfactory. Other surveys followed, and various
plans were proposed; but the breaking out of the war for a time put a
stop to the labors. In 1866 Brevet Major General Newton was sent by
the War Department to examine the obstructions of Hellgate, and to
arrange for their removal. In the following year he made his report,
giving estimates of the time and money required to make a safe and
easy passage-way for ships of all sizes: he proposed to remove, by
blasting, the obstructions known as Pot Rock, Frying Pan, Way’s Reef,
Shell Drake, Heeltap Rock, Negro Point, Scaly Rock, Hallett’s Point,
and certain other rocks of smaller size.
He estimated that the channel could be made an average depth of
twenty-five feet below low-water mark; that the work could be
completed in six years, at a cost of about six million dollars.
Another plan included the removal of these rocks and four others
in ten years’ time, at a cost of nine millions of dollars; and he
presented another plan, by which some of the middle rocks should
remain as they were; and the most serious obstruction, known as
Hallett’s Point, could be removed in three years, at a cost of three
millions.
[Sidenote: DANGERS OF HALLETT’S POINT.]
Hallett’s Point is the most dangerous obstruction in Hellgate. From
shore to shore the distance is about six hundred feet; the reef
extends more than three hundred feet from one shore, so that the
actual width of the channel is reduced to three hundred feet.
The water boils furiously over this reef, and turns a large part of
the tide upon the Gridiron Rock, frequently throwing ships upon it.
The process of drilling and blasting was considered too slow and
ineffectual, and it was proposed to remove the rock by sinking a
shaft upon the shore, undermining the entire reef, leaving pillars
to support the rock until the work of undermining was all completed,
when, by a single explosion, these pillars could be blown away, the
whole reef would fall, and the dangerous obstructions to the commerce
of New York would be removed.
One pleasant day, in 1871, I was one of a party to visit the scene of
General Newton’s operations. Our party embarked on a small steamer at
the Barge Office, and proceeded up the East River, stopping on the
way to examine the operations in progress for the removal of what is
known as Coenties’ Reef. This reef is about six hundred feet from
Pier No. 8, on the East River, and lies directly in the busiest part
of the harbor of New York, almost in the track of the ferry boats
between New York and Brooklyn, and has always been considered very
troublesome and dangerous. Attempts have been made at various times to
remove this reef, but none of them were successful until the plan of
General Newton was tried. The reef is about 250 feet long, and is 130
feet wide in its broadest part. We found a large scow anchored above
the reef, and were politely taken on board. The scow is very broad
and heavy, and is firmly anchored, so that ships or steamers that run
against it can be very little damaged.
In two or three instances, vessels that have come in collision with
the scow have retired considerably damaged, while the large and
unwieldy craft, remains unharmed.
As we went on board we were taken to the centre of the scow, where
there was a circular well about thirty feet across; and in this well
there was a dome, which could be raised and lowered by means of
machinery. At the top of the dome there was a “telescope,” twelve
feet in diameter, that could be extended or shortened in order to
accommodate itself to the condition of the tide. The plan of working
was to anchor the scow over the place where the rock was to be
drilled, and then to lower the dome until it touched the rock. As
soon as one part of it struck the rock, rods were pushed out from
the side of the dome to rest upon the reef, and perform the work of
feet: they readily adapted themselves to the inequalities of the rock,
and as soon as they were fastened in their place the dome was almost
immovable.
[Sidenote: DRILLING UNDER WATER.]
Inside the dome there were places for lowering drills, and working
them, by means of machinery. The drilling engines were run by steam,
and the drills, nine in number, were operated simultaneously; the
nine holes that they made were in a circle of about twenty feet
in diameter. The drill penetrated the rock from six inches to two
feet an hour, according to its hardness. When a round of holes was
made, the scow was hauled off, the holes were filled with charges of
nitro-glycerine in tin cans, and everything was made ready for a blast.
The work of blasting has to be done very rapidly, for the reason that
a diver can only go down to arrange the charges at the period of slack
water. Everything is made ready at the turn of the tide, and the very
instant that the tide falls the holes are charged.
We were not in time to witness a blast; and on two other occasions,
when I went to see an explosion, the performance did not come off;
some slight accident had happened, so that the slack water period had
passed before everything was ready.
When the round of holes has been charged, the diver goes down. The
pump to supply him with air is kept at work; the charges are lowered
into the water one after the other, and placed in the holes where they
belong. When he has arranged everything, he gives a signal and is
drawn above. The boats then back away from the reef sufficiently far
to be out of the way of the explosion.
[Sidenote: NITRO-GLYCERINE EXPLOSIONS.]
The nine charges are fired simultaneously by means of electricity.
The double wire, insulated with gutta-percha, extends into a small
cartridge of powder, which is placed in the top of each charge
of nitro-glycerine. The ends of the wire are brought quite near
each other, and between them a small slip of platinum is soldered.
The current of electricity, passing through the wires, heats this
platinum to redness, and sets fire to the powder around it. The powder
explodes, and its explosion sets fire to the nitro-glycerine. As the
battery which furnishes the electricity is on board the boat, the
current is thrown into each pair of wires simultaneously and thus the
explosions occur at exactly the same moment.
A column of water shoots up into the air, the rock is torn and broken,
and there is a general disturbance of the water all round it: ships
and boats are warned, by means of a red flag, to keep at a safe
distance. It generally happens that a good many fishes that have been
swimming around the rock at the time of the explosion are killed,
and rise to the surface; those that are not killed are very much
astonished, and swim away with great rapidity.
The experience of a diver going down to arrange the charges is not
highly agreeable. If he remains longer than the period of slack water,
he finds the current so strong that it almost carries him off his
feet; and it frequently becomes necessary for him to be drawn to the
surface and abandon his work until the next turn of the tide. Should
an explosion occur while he is below, it would be pretty certain to
cause his death.
The substance which he handles is not the safest in the world, but the
engineers seem to be agreed that it is much better in every way than
gunpowder. They say that accidents which have occurred from the use
of nitro-glycerine have been caused by careless or ignorant handling,
and that many accidents to which powder is liable will not occur with
nitro-glycerine.
General Newton explained to us that a few days before our visit a
slight accident occurred, which would have proved fatal had they been
using powder. At that time they were using fulminating caps instead
of electricity; one of the fulminating caps was ignited, and set fire
to the charge of powder: the case was broken and the nitro-glycerine
was spilled about, but nothing serious happened. Had they been using
gunpowder instead, the consequences would have been fatal.
[Sidenote: EFFECTS OF NITRO-GLYCERINE.]
In nearly all the modern blasting operations in the United States, in
Europe, and in many other places, nitro-glycerine takes the place of
powder; it is much more powerful in its effect, a single charge of it
breaking and shattering a rock much more than gunpowder. It has the
advantage, too, of extending its force completely to the bottom of the
hole, whereas gunpowder very frequently acts only part way down the
hole.
My individual experience of nitro-glycerine has not been of the most
pleasing character. In 1866 I sailed from New York for San Francisco
by way of Panama; when we reached Aspinwall we crossed the Isthmus
to take the Pacific steamer at Panama. It was nearly sunset when we
climbed up the gangway, and stood upon her deck; an hour later, the
tug with our baggage, and with the express freight and mails, came
out. I was standing near the gangway when the baggage and express
matter came on board, and I think, though I will not be positive
about it,—and some of my acquaintances say it is very unlikely,—that
I assisted in taking a few of the boxes over the rail. Everything was
stowed away, and about ten o’clock at night we steamed down the Bay of
Panama, and were on our way to San Francisco. We reached the latter
city in safety on a Saturday morning, and I was introduced to a very
large number of gentlemen, and most hospitably entertained.
Two or three days later, I was walking up Montgomery Street, and met
a friend on his way to lunch at a well-known Club House: I would
have accepted his invitation to lunch, only it happened that I had
just breakfasted; and, bidding him good morning, or good afternoon,
I walked slowly towards the Occidental Hotel. I had been there but a
very few minutes before I heard a loud report, which jarred the whole
building, and set people flying through all the corridors to ascertain
what was the matter. I went out, and walked up the street the way
I had come. The office of Wells, Fargo, & Co’s Express was, if I
remember correctly, two blocks away from the hotel. It turned out that
the explosion which had jarred all that part of the city, was in the
office of the Express Company.
[Sidenote: A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT.]
To tell the story briefly, seventeen persons were killed, among them
some of my personal friends, and as many more had been wounded. The
Club House, where I was very near taking my lunch, had been blown up,
and several persons who were sitting at the lunch-table were among the
injured.
Among the boxes which had been on the steamer with me from New York
to San Francisco, had been passed over the rail of the steamer at
Panama, and which I had assisted in handling, there were two cases of
nitro-glycerine.
One of these cases had exploded at the express office, its contents
not being known, and consequently it had not been carefully handled,
and in exploding it had set fire to the other. The force was
sufficiently strong to cause a marvellous deal of damage, in and
around the express company’s building, to break hundreds, if not
thousands, of panes of glass, some of them three or four hundred yards
away; and all agreed that if those cases had blown up on our steamer
we never would have been heard of afterwards.
“Suppose, now,” said one of my fellow-travellers,—“suppose, now, those
cases had exploded when we were taking them in at Panama. Why, the
steamer would have gone, one half to the bottom, and the other half
up in the air, and some of us might have come down a thousand miles
away.”
A week or two after this explosion at San Francisco, there was one
quite like it at Aspinwall, doing an amount of damage equal to, if not
greater than the explosion at San Francisco. Since that time I have
had a wholesome fear of nitro-glycerine, and am always inclined to
keep at a respectful distance from it. It may be a very good thing in
its way, it may be entirely safe if properly handled, but I greatly
prefer that it should not be in my way, and that somebody else should
handle it.
[Sidenote: AT HALLETT’S POINT.]
From Coenties’ Reef we went to Hallett’s Point, and were landed under
the supervision of the general in charge. We were delivered over to
the hands of the superintendent, Mr. Reitheimer, who entertained
us very pleasantly, and showed great politeness to the ladies and
gentlemen of the party, especially to the ladies. He explained all
about the works, and opened a mysterious case. In a very short time
our heads were full of tunnels, drifts, headings, drills, champagne,
nitro-glycerine, reefs, derricks, pale sherry, and all that sort of
thing. He showed us his plans and specifications, and then induced
us to step into a wooden box slung at the end of a derrick, and be
lowered away into a pit of fifty or sixty feet in depth.
[Illustration: VIEW OF SHAFT FROM THE DAM.]
[Illustration: THE SHAFT, SHOWING HEADINGS.]
This pit formed a shaft which had been sunk on shore to begin the
operations upon the reef. From the shaft a series of tunnels extended
very much like one’s outstretched fingers. Between the tunnels there
were smaller tunnels, running from one to the other, leaving pillars
to support the rock and the water above. A strong dam had been built
around the mouth of the pit to prevent the water from flooding it.
The tunnels or headings, as they were technically called, had been
designated by names instead of numbers. Most of the men working
there were Cornish miners, and they seemed not fond of numerical
designations. The superintendent originally called the central heading
Number One, but it was changed to Farragut Heading. The others in
order after it were Madison, Humphrey, Hoffman, Sherman, Jefferson,
Grant, McClellan, Franklin, and Jackson.
[Sidenote: UNDER HELLGATE.]
At the center of the reef the highest tunnel was known as Grant
Heading. Nine feet of rock was left to form a roof. The rock was not
very hard, but full of seams and fissures, through which the water
constantly dripped. The narrow seams were closed by blocking, and when
a wide seam was struck it had to be closed outside.
In one case the miners came upon a horizontal seam, through which the
water poured at the rate of six hundred gallons a minute, and before
the flow could be stopped, the miners were standing in three or four
feet of water. Bags of clay were kept in readiness on the edge of the
coffer-dam, over each heading, so that, whenever a seam was found, it
could be closed as quickly as possible.
A large number of men were employed in these headings, drilling holes
in the rock, and preparing for the great blast to come. For a long
time, hand drills only were used, but the work was greatly facilitated
by the introduction of drills operated by means of compressed air.
It was not until September, 1876, that the rocks of the reef were
completely “honey-combed.” The process left a roof of rock, supported
by piers, which were so perforated as to secure their destruction
by the blast. The quantities of explosive materials, finally
decided upon by General Newton and his engineers, were estimated
as follows:—Dynamite, 25,976 pounds; Vulcan powder, 14,244 pounds;
Rend Rock, 9,061 pounds; Dynamite in Primers, 3,500 pounds. Dynamite
is simply nitro-glycerine mixed with sand, and the Vulcan and Rend
Rock are brands of strongest blasting powder. Connected with the
explosive material in each of the sealed canisters was a copper
wire, and all these wires were connected with the coil attached to
twenty-three powerful electric batteries. Thus, the batteries were
connected with each canister, and operated upon each, while each
canister was connected with and operated upon all the others. To make
all these connections, about twenty-three miles of wire was used.
The excavations in the rock were filled with water. It required
47,561 cubic yards to fill them. The water was let in at the rate of
2,000 cubic yards per hour, completing the filling at eight o’clock,
Saturday evening, September 23d. Three hundred feet from the rock,
General Newton had constructed a bomb-proof building, twelve feet
square, in which he placed the batteries. The metallic plates were
not submerged in the acids till noon of the next day (Sunday), so
that the electricity could not be generated till near the time of the
explosion, which had been fixed at 2:50 p. m.
[Sidenote: THE GREAT EXPLOSION.]
Guard boats were stationed on the river to force a suspension of
navigation, and the police took up a line along the river front to
guard against a too near encroachment by sight-seers. At 2:25 p. m.
the first signal gun was fired, and, ten minutes later, a second
gun announced the near approach of the dreaded hour. The assembled
multitude awaited with breathless interest the last and most important
scene in the Hellgate drama. Men and women stood, watches in hand,
counting the minutes and seconds, or gazing anxiously across the water
to where the great upheaval was to take place. All waited in anxious
suspense, and finally, at exactly the appointed time, the tiny finger
of little Mary Newton, three years old, guided by the firm hand of her
father, pressed the magic key, the shock came, away went Hallett’s
Point reef, and the fears of the timid were found to have been totally
groundless. The shock was merely a dull, deadened sound, as of distant
thunder, and the upheaval was less than might naturally have been
expected from firing such an amount of explosives. The water rose up
like a wall of many geysers to a height of from sixty to seventy feet.
It appeared snow-white, and formed of huge cones which had dome-like
terminations. There was so much spray between these cones, however,
that the appearance of the water was that of a wall from which great
columns stood out in high relief. Suddenly there came out from the
eastward a dark cloud of mingled stones and earth, in front of which
were huge wooden fragments of the coffer-dam. The roof of the mine
seemed to rise to the surface, and then slowly sink to the bed of
the river. The water, after receding, was black and discolored, and,
after seething and boiling for a few seconds, apparently resumed
its natural state. The concussion was slight, and crowds of people
remained, in the vain expectation of witnessing something which would
be on a more magnificent scale.
It was feared that the blasted rocks would pile up around the sides
of the excavation, and form a dangerous temporary obstruction. As a
precaution, three massive spar buoys were held in readiness to mark
the locality until the work of sounding was finished, and the position
of the _débris_ discovered. The United States steamer Cactus on the
afternoon of Monday, the 25th, began the work of laying out the buoys.
The first sounding was made at a distance of two hundred feet from
shore, along an arc around Hallett’s Point and over the exploded mine.
Tour after tour was made at greater distances from shore, and with
the shaft deeper in the water. Not a rock or obstacle of any kind
was encountered during the afternoon. In referring to the record of
water found at the different soundings, the number of feet reported
may be considered the amount of water at mean or average low tide.
When the work of excavation began, the tide-gauge showed four feet
of water over the average low water mark. The trial-shaft made the
tour unhindered at a depth of sixteen feet, thus demonstrating a safe
passage for vessels of such a draft at a point where the day before a
giant rock protruded from the water. The last trial was made at three
hundred and fifty feet out, and showed a depth of twenty-one feet at
low water.
[Sidenote: GENERAL NEWTON’S TRIUMPH.]
General John Newton may be said to have achieved a victory greater
than any in war. The 24th of September ought hereafter to be
celebrated as the jubilee day of commerce, and the anniversary of the
greatest triumph of engineering science in history. The seven years’
toil on Hallett’s Point Reef at Hellgate has culminated in a grand
_coup de maître_, which was successful in every detail and in the full
accomplishment of all the results expected, and all without a single
disaster to human life. Begun upon a carefully matured plan—carried
on with the quiet, painstaking persistence of science—the long labor
of demolishing the great obstacle to navigation has at last been
completed.
LXIII.
THE EARLY HISTORY OF MANKIND.